August 8, 2011

The Obama Downgrade

The Loss Of Americas AAA Credit Rating Is Another Bleak Record In The Failure Of The Obama Presidency
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THE DOWNGRADE OF AMERICA ON THE PRESIDENTS WATCH IS AN IGNOMINIOUS LEGACY FOR OBAMA
Then A Rating Agency Lowered The U.S. Credit Rating For The First Time, An Ignominious Legacy For Obama. (George E. Condon Jr., What A Week: Afghan Deaths, S&P, And Debt Limit Debate Challenge Obama, National Journal, 8/6/11) The Downgrade, Hours After Markets Closed On Friday, Is A First For The United States Since It Was Granted An AAA Rating In 1917. (Paul Wiseman, US Downgrade Raises Anxiety, If Not Interest Rates, The Associated Press, 8/6/11) President Obama Is Now Firmly Part Of The Landscape That S&P Trashed. But as he prepares to head out of town on Aug. 15, the bad news keeps piling up: new fears of a double-dip recession, a jumpy stock market and then Standard & Poors downgrade on Friday of the nations triple-A credit rating for the first time in history. S&P blamed Washingtons dysfunctional political culture for its move. Knocking Washington gridlock is a favorite topic of Obamas as well, but he is now firmly part of the landscape that S&P trashed. (Carrie Budoff Brown and Glenn Thrush, Obamas Bus Trip Could Hit Speedbumps, Politico, 8/7/11) Obamas Downgrade Could Push Interest Rates Higher And Further Unsettle The Economy. [T]he credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States' AAA credit rating for the first time in history, a move that could push interest rates higher and further unsettle the economy. (Julie Pace, Obama Pushes
His Proposals For Job Growth, The Associated Press, 8/06/11)

THE PRESIDENT SAID LEADERS ARE GOING TO LEAD BUT AT EVERY CHANCE OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS HAVE PUNTED ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
President Obama: Call Me Nave, But My Expectation Is That Leaders Are Going To Lead. (President Barack
Obama, The Presidents News Conference, Washington, D.C., 6/29/11)

LAST YEAR: [W]ith Congressional Democrats Due To Face Voters In November, Obama Punted The [Deficit] Problem To The Bipartisan Panel [W]ith congressional Democrats due to face voters in November, Obama punted the problem to the bipartisan panel, formally known as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and ordered it to deliver a solution by Dec. 1, well after the fall elections. (Lori Montgomery, GOP Leaders Agree To Panel On Federal Deficit, The Washington Post, 2/19/10) FEBRUARY BUDGET: The Christian Science Monitor: Contrary To The Advice Of Obama's Fiscal Commission, His Budget Map Punts Entitlement Reform To Future Negotiations As Far As Two Years Out. (Gail Russell Chaddock, Why The Budget Deficit Is So Hard For Congress To Shrink, The Christian Science Monitor, 2/22/11)
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Given The Chance To Show Leadership With His Budget, Obama "Chose Instead To Duck" Behind "The Sort Of Budgetary Gimmicks He Once Derided. (Editorial, "President Obama's Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The
Road," The Washington Post, 2/15/11)

APRIL BUDGET SPEECH: [Obamas] Recent Budget Speech At George Washington University Was A Telling Model Of Evasion, Contradiction And Deception. (Robert Samuelson, Op-Ed, Obama Abdicates On The Budget, The
Washington Post, 4/24/11)

Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf: We dont estimate speeches. (Committee On The
Budget, U.S. House Hearing,, 6/23/11)

DEBT CEILING: Chicago Sun Times: Obama Punted And Failed The Test Of Leadership. Now, Hes Trying To Assume That Mantle. He could have started the discussion on the deficit last winter instead of waiting until this summer and a looming Aug. 2 deadline on raising the debt ceiling. But he punted and failed the test of leadership. Now, hes trying to assume that mantle. (Steve Huntley, Obama Fires Blank On Economy, Chicago SunTimes, 7/12/11)

SENATE DEMOCRATS BUDGET? The Wall Street Journal: When It Comes To Their Core Responsibility Under The Law Of Passing A Budget Resolution, They Are A.W.O.L. (Editorial, Cool Hand Harry,
The Wall Street Journal, 5/26/11)

Senate Democrats Have Not Passed A Budget For 831 Days, Since April 29, 2009. (S. Con. Res. 13, Roll Call 173; D 533, R 0-40, I 2-0; 4/29/09)

AS DEMOCRATS DODGED THE ISSUE, OBAMA BECAME THE UNDISPUTED DEBT KING OF THE LAST FIVE PRESIDENTS
Politifact: Barack Obama Is The Undisputed Debt King Of The Last Five Presidents. So by this measurement -- potentially a more important one -- Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosis chart suggested. (Nancy
Pelosi Post Questionable Chart On Debt Accumulation By Barack Obama, Predecessors, Politifact, 5/19/11)

Since President Obama Took Office, The National Debt Has Increased By $3.9 Trillion (Up 37%).
(Department Of The Treasury, "The Debt To The Penny And Who Holds It," TreasuryDirect.gov, Accessed 8/7/11)

In February, Obama Proposed A $3.73 Trillion Budget, Which Will Result In $46 Trillion In Spending Over Ten Years And Deficits Totaling $9.5 Trillion. (Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Of The U.S. Government," Office Of Management And
Budget, 2/14/11; An Analysis Of The Presidents Budgetary Proposals For Fiscal Year 2012, Congressional Budget Office, April 2011)

In 2021, Obamas Budget Will Drive Our Total Debt To $26.3 Trillion, Equaling 107 Percent Of GDP. (Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Of The U.S. Government," Office Of Management And Budget, 2/14/11)

By Next Election Obama Will Have Added $22,500 In New Debt For Every Man, Woman And Child In The Nation Enough To Pay For A New Toyota Corolla For Each Of Them. By the time the next election rolls around, the government will have taken on almost $7 trillion in debt under Obama. Its hard to explain away a number so big. Republicans will find clever ways to make that number more digestible, including handy stats such as reducing that amount to $22,500 in new debt for every man, woman and child in the nation enough to pay for a new Toyota Corolla for each of them. (Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, President Obamas
Big Drags, Politico, 8/4/11)

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